"Wildside" (1985) TV series

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Creator:

Tom Greene

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

21 March 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

A Group Of Vigilantes Take The Law Into Their Own Hands To Preserve Peace In A Lawless Land

Plot:

Five weapons specialists/cowboys fight crime in the town of Wildside, CA.

Plot Keywords:

Cult Western | Undercover | Vigilante | Gadget

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

William Smith	...	Brodie Hollister (6 episodes, 1985)
J. Eddie Peck	...	Sutton Hollister (6 episodes, 1985)
Howard E. Rollins Jr.	...	Bannister Sparks (6 episodes, 1985)
John D'Aquino	...	Varges De La Cosa (6 episodes, 1985)
Terry Funk	...	Prometheus Jones (6 episodes, 1985)
Meg Ryan	...	Cally Oaks (6 episodes, 1985)
Sandy McPeak	...	Governor J. Wendell Summerhayes (6 episodes, 1985)
Jon Fong	...	Keye Ahn (6 episodes, 1985)
Kurt Fuller	...	Elliot Thogmorton (6 episodes, 1985)
Robin Hoff	...	Alice Freeze (6 episodes, 1985)
Timothy Scott	...	Skillet (6 episodes, 1985)
Jason Hervey	...	Zeke (6 episodes, 1985)

Runtime:

60 min | 60 min (6 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Tom Greene Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Occupations: The Hollisters bred horses on a ranch outside of town. Sparks ran an emporium. Prometheus was Wildside's veterinarian. And de la Cosa, despite never using a gun, ran a gunshop.

Quotes:

Annie Oakley: Nothing I love better than to see a man with his hands on his gun and three balls in the air!

Good cast, bad history, still fun.

This short-lived series was a quirky cross between "Wild, Wild West" and "The A-Team". Set in California in the 1880's, five adventurers (each with a special weapons proficiency) keep their home town safe from villainy.

The cast is dandy and has good chemistry. The characters are more than cardboard cutouts--witness the father and son dynamic between the older gunfighter and his son, who is still trying to prove himself, or the superstitious knife expert who leaves payment for his funeral with the spinster undertaker every time the team embarks on a mission. Meg Ryan as the young hero's love interest is a bit of an anachronism, (And she wears the same blue and white dress in every single scene/episode, so obviously this was in her pre-star power days!), but as usual, she's spirited and spunky.

The history portion of the series is decidedly hit-or-miss--the episode about a troop of pillaging Crimean War veterans is completely absurd--but it's basically good clean fun.